Jurassic Park Reviews: Our Verdict on All Seven Films

My Jurassic Park reviews run through seven main films in release order, and the 1993 original sits at the top of my list. I come at the saga as a creature design fan, so scale, rules and how a dinosaur earns its scare count for more than tidy plotting. Full reviews of each film are still to come.

Jurassic Park 1993, directed by Steven Spielberg, runs 127 minutes and earned more than $1.1 billion worldwide on a $63 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo. So, why is it such a good movie? In my opinion, the setup is the reason: after a worker dies, investors demand an inspection, and John Hammond invites Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler and Ian Malcolm to approve the park. That gives three experts a reason to be on the island and a reason to doubt it. Industrial Light & Magic and Stan Winston's team built the creatures, and Hurricane Iniki, which struck Hawaii on September 11, 1992 during the final days of filming, ended up as storm footage in the finished film. Every later entry is measured against it, and it is rated PG-13 in the US.

The Lost World Jurassic Park is also directed by Spielberg, runs 129 minutes and took about $619 million worldwide on a $73 million budget. Ian Malcolm, played by Jeff Goldblum, leads the film after Hammond asks him to document the animals on Isla Sorna, and he goes in because his girlfriend Sarah Harding is already there. It is a bigger ensemble, with a rival InGen group competing against the documentary team. In my opinion, it is more ambitious than cohesive, and it works best as a hunt story rather than a sequel to the 1993 awe.

Jurassic Park 3, directed by Joe Johnston, is the shortest film in the saga at 92 minutes, and it took about $369 million worldwide on a $93 million budget. Alan Grant agrees to guide a wealthy couple on a flight over Isla Sorna, only to learn they are not tourists but are really searching for their missing teenage son. Reports from the production describe script problems, a Hawaii shoot, and an animatronic Spinosaurus built for the film. It could be argued that the short running time is a strength, because the film never pretends to be anything but a rescue story with teeth, and I rate it higher than its reputation.

Jurassic World 2015, directed by Colin Trevorrow, runs 124 minutes and grossed about $1.67 billion worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo, on a $150 million budget. The park is open and busy, Owen Grady trains a pack of Velociraptors, and Claire Dearing asks him to check the enclosure of the Indominus rex. NBC News reports that Trevorrow designed that hybrid with paleontologist Jack Horner. In my opinion, the idea that the park creates its own monster is the smartest thing any sequel has done, even if the human characters are thinner than the animals.

Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom, directed by J. A. Bayona, runs 129 minutes and took about $1.31 billion worldwide on a $170 million budget. Isla Nublar is about to erupt, and Claire and Owen travel back to find Blue, the last raptor, under the cover of a rescue plan from Eli Mills. Perhaps the film works best as two movies, an island escape and then an estate drama at the Lockwood home, and I enjoy the second half more than most fans do.

Jurassic World Dominion, directed by Colin Trevorrow, is the longest film at 147 minutes and took just over $1 billion worldwide against a $465 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo. Dinosaurs now live across the world, Owen and Claire are raising Maisie Lockwood, and Ellie Sattler is investigating giant locusts linked to Biosyn Genetics. Grant, Sattler and Malcolm joining the newer cast is the draw. In my opinion, the reunion deserves a tighter film than this, and the number of threads leaves each one underfed. It has no post credits scene, according to TheWrap.

Jurassic World Rebirth, directed by Gareth Edwards with a score by Alexandre Desplat, runs 134 minutes and took about $869 million worldwide on a $225 million budget. Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey lead a team sent to take genetic material from three giant dinosaurs, one from the sea, one from the land and one from the air. That brief gives every set piece a purpose, which I think is the cleanest structure since the original. TheWrap reports that Edwards will not direct the follow up, and the next Jurassic World movie page covers where that stands.

If you want the best of the saga, start with Jurassic Park (1993) and then read the Jurassic Park movies in order guide for the full sequence. For my full ranking with reasons, see Jurassic Park movies ranked, and for the numbers behind each film, see the Jurassic Park box office page.